Stuart Grehan produced one of the best rounds of his life to overturn a 1-down 18-hole deficit and be crowned Amateur Championship winner in a thrilling contest at Royal Liverpool Golf Club in Hoylake.
The Tullamore native, representing County Louth Golf Club, was uncharacteristically loose with his long game in the first 18 holes, and a combination of mistakes and bad luck saw him fall 3-down through 12 holes, with a combination of clutch putting from Grehan and a few misses from his opponent, Matt Moloney of the United States keeping Grehan in touch.
It seemed as though the three-hole deficit served as a wake-up call, and he began to settle into a groove that saw him reel off three wins in four holes to tie the match after 16, but for the third time in the round, a good tee shot found a nasty lie in a bunker on the last and Moloney was able to restore a narrow advantage at the halfway mark.
When play resumed for the second round, it was Grehan who looked the more composed and won both of the opening two holes to take his first lead of the tie, but Moloney responded to win the third and fourth holes and edge back in front, but his lead was as short lived as Grehan’s was and the Walker Cup star birdied the next to tie the match once more.
When he looks back afterwards, the eighth hole may be the one where he felt the balance of the tie truly shift in his favour. Though Moloney completed a good two-putt for birdie on the par-5, Grehan had sent a towering 8-iron right at the flag and it settled inside six feet and his putt found the centre of the cup for eagle.
He doubled his advantage with a win on 12, then, having halved each of the next four, he secured a two-putt par on the 15th but Moloney’s aggressive first putt proved costly as he watched the comeback effort slide by.
That left Grehan 3-UP with three to play, but hopes of settling the affair quickly didn’t materialise. Despite playing one of the best approach shots of the week as he threaded the gap between the greenside bunkers and leaving himself a 12-footer for birdie and the match on the par-5 16th, Grehan’s putt drifted by and he missed another for par from similar distance on the next meaning that it would take at least the full 36 holes to settle the tie.
Both men found themselves in similar position down the right side of the 18th and then again on the green, though Grehan, at approximately 25 feet from the hole, was a few feet closer. Moloney gave his putt a great run but it just missed low, leaving Grehan two-putts to finally see off the South Carolinian.
Though it didn’t go in, it was the last stroke of the championship as the two-inches or so he had left was conceded, and relief flooded through his body and he became the first Irishman to have his name inscribed on the trophy since James Sugrue at Portmarnock in 2019.
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“I can’t believe it, to be honest,” was his immediate reaction. “I’m just so relieved. My legs were shaking coming up the 18th there, I was just saying it to Dan [his caddie for the week], but yeah, just absolutely over the moon.
“I was thinking of all sorts over that first putt there, but, look, delighted just to get it done.”
A large Irish contingent had arrived at Royal Liverpool in the early hours of the morning, and impressive galleries shadowed the duo for all 36 holes on the final day, many of whom were also in attendance last year at Royal St George’s when Gavin Tiernan, another County Louth man, came up agonisingly short in the final.
“Yeah, it’s been amazing,” Grehan said. “It was boisterous out there today, which is nice, and for both of us as well. I think Matt appreciated the crowd as well and obviously they’re pulling for me, but, look, it was just amazing to have everyone over and they get the job done.
“Obviously we were very close last year with Gavin nearly winning as well, but, I’m kind of speechless, to be honest.”
While he may not have been at his best in the opening 18 holes, he was extremely proud of the performance he put on in the final 18 and the surprise arrival of David Ruddy, his coach, proved effective.
“I guess I had a nice reset at lunch,” he explained. “My coach is actually over. I didn’t know he was here, so we went to the range, talked it out, and just a couple of small bits, and to be fair, I actually played quite well that side.
“I hit the ball really well, made a few mental errors, but that’s always going to happen, you know, over 36 holes for the last few days, but I just kind of kept the head down, just tried to stay as calm as possible.”
The victory means that he’ll now tee it up at Royal Birkdale in four weeks’ time as the 33-year-old will make his major championship debut, and he’ll also earn invitations to Augusta National for the Masters and to Pebble Beach for next year’s U.S. Open.
That, combined with a Walker Cup at Lahinch and his wife Carla and he expecting twins along with the son they already have means he’s in for an extremely busy 12 months.
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